F 
M5L2. 



LABIES' MEMOBIAL ASSOCIATION. 



Confederate 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES. 



MONDAY, MAY n, 1885. 



KEW BERN, K C. 



RICHMOND, VA. : 

Whittet & Sheppekson, Cor# Tenth and Main Streets. 
1886. 



—ASS: 




Class. 
Book- 






LADIES' MEMOEIAL ASSOCIATION. 



Confederate 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES. 



MONDAY, MAY ii, 1885. 

NEW BEEN, K C. 



RICHMOND, VA. : 

Whtttet & Sheppekson, Cor, Tenth and Main Streets. 
188G. 



^3 






N T E N T S. 



{] n AT ^- 



1. Frontispiece : Confederate Monument. 

2. Historical Sketch of the Ladies' Memorial Association of New 

Bern, N. C, by Rev. L. C. Vass, A. M., . . . . 5 

3. Biographical Sketch of Gen. James Johnston Pettigrew, by 

Capt. H. C. Grah.\]vi, ...,.,. 9 

4. Address on Unveiling the Confederate Monument, by Rev. L. 

C. Vass, A. M., 26 

5. Poem, "Dux Fcemina Facti,'' by Mrs. M.ary Bay.uid Clarke, . 29 

6. Proceedings at the Unv-eiling of the Monument, ... 29 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



OF 



THE LADIES' MEMORIAL SOCIETY 



NEW BEEN, N. C. 



DURING the late sad war New Bern was long occupied by 
the Federal troops. At its close, the old citizens, long 
exiles from their homes, returned, broken in fortune, poor in 
worldly goods, but rich in patriotic fervor. The large-hearted 
women of New Bern determined, in some way, to commemorate 
the devotion of the dead Confederate soldiers of this section of 
the old North State. No means were available except what con- 
tinuous effort could realize. 

On November 17, 1866, the Board of City Councilmen, by a 
vote of four to two, passed the following ordinance : 

" It is ordained by the Mayor and Council of the city of New 
Bern, that the plat of ground in Cedar Grove Cemetery, known 
as the Circle, and the four adjoining triangles, be, and the same 
are hereby given, set apart, and appropriated to the New Bern 
Memorial Association, for the legitimate purposes for which said 
Association was formed. 

"Be it further ordained, that the Mayor and Council of said 
city shall, and will convey by deed to said Association said plat of 
ground, so soon as said Association shall be prepared legally to 
receive the same." 

"The Ladies' Memorial Association of New Bern" was 
organized in January, 1867, with the following officers: Presi- 
dent, Mrs. E. B. Daves ; Vice-Presidents, Mrs. J. A. Guion, Mrs. 
W. P. Moore and Mrs. M. McK. Nash ; Secretary, Miss H. Lane ; 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



THE LADIES' MEMORIAL SOCIETY 



OF 



NEW BEEN, N. C. 



DURING the late sad war New Bern was long occupied by 
the Federal troops. At its close, the old citizens, long 
exiles from their homes, returned, broken in fortune, poor in 
worldly goods, but rich in patriotic fervor. The large-hearted 
women of New Bern determined, in some way, to commemorate 
the devotion of the dead Confederate soldiers of this section of 
the old North State. No means were available except what con- 
tinuous eifort could realize. 

On November 17, 1866, the Board of City Councilmen, by a 
vote of four to two, passed the following ordinance : 

" It is ordained by the Mayor and Council of the city of New 
Bern, that the plat of ground in Cedar Grove Cemetery, known 
as the Circle, and the four adjoining triangles, be, and the same 
are hereby given, set apart, and appropriated to the New Bern 
Memorial Association, for the legitimate purposes for which said 
Association was formed. 

"Be it further ordained, that the Mayor and Council of said 
city shall, and will convey by deed to said Association said plat of 
ground, so soon as said Association shall be prepared legally to 
receive the same." 

"The Ladies' Memorial Association of New Bern" was 
organized in January, 1867, with the following officers: Presi- 
dent, Mrs. E. B. Daves ; Yice-Presidents, Mrs. J. A. Guion, Mrs. 
W. P. Moore and Mrs. M. McK. Nash ; Secretary, Miss H. Lane ; 



.6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 

Treasurer, Mrs. Julius Lewis. For the past eigliteen years 
they have labored with commendable perseverance to accomplish 
their worthy aims. Money has been gathered from annual dues, 
festivals, concerts, mite chests, donations, and a final handsome 
and successful effort through the columns of the New Bern Daily 
Journal, by its editor, Mr, H. S. Nunn. Altogether they have 
received about $3,700. 

On May 2d, 1867, was laid the corner-stone of the mausoleum 
or vault beneath centre plat. It was completed at a cost of about 
$2,000. Herein have been deposited sixty-seven bodies of Con- 
federates, who died or were killed in or near the city during the 
war. Their names are preserved by the Society. Three other 
interments have been made since; and any Confederate soldier, 
remaining true to the "Lost Cause," may be buried here, if his 
family so desire. 

Above this mausoleum, on the summit of the mound, stands 
the Association's crowning work — the beautiful monument repro- 
duced in the frontispiece. It rises from a bottom base, four feet 
square, to a total height of eighteen feet. The bottom and sub- 
base, die and shaft, are of fine Rutland l»lue marble. The life-size 
statue on top was cut, after a design expressly for this monument, 
by the best workman in Carrara, Italy. It represents a Confed- 
erate soldier in uniform and overcoat, on picket, with every sense 
awake as he keenly watches for the slightest hostile movement. 
Calm, faithful, brave, he will never be surprised. A noble face 
and figure, a typical hero from the ranks ! In procuring and 
setting in place this statue, Mr. J. K. Willis, the skilled marble 
worker of New Bern, kindly assisted the ladies without charge 
for his personal care and superintendence. 

Just as this statue was put in position, the first and only presi- 
dent of the Association, Mrs. Daves, passed from her service here 
to her reward. Her last moments were cheered by the announce- 
ment of the happy completion of this work, so dear to her noble 
heart. 

The monument was finished in time for the annual May cele- 
bration, 1885. So Monday, May 11th, a most charming and 
auspicious day, was appropriated to the 



ladies memorial society of new bern, n. c. 7 

Inauguration Ceremonies. 
Steamer and railroad poured in their contributions from river 
and inland, from Moreliead, Kingston and Smithfield, until a dense 
throng gathered aromid the tastefully decorated speaker's stand, 
under the pleasant shade of the Academy's beautiful grove of elms. 
Prominent in front were the old shot-rent and battle-inscribed 
flag of the Forty-eighth North Carolina Regiment, and the bright 
banner of the Sixty-seventh North Carolina Regiment, borne by 
a one-armed ex-Confederate. Old veterans of these commands 
honored their remembered ensigns of trying days. 

After music by the choir and a prayer by Rev. Y. W. Shields, 
Mr. Clement Manly introduced the orator of the day, Captain 
Hamilton C. Graham, of Dallas county, Ala., but a native of 
Halifax county, N. C, and formerly a captain in the Seventh 
North Carolina Regiment,* wlio then, in response to the invita- 
tion of the Memorial Association, delivered the handsome address 
which follows, on the Life and Services of General James John- 
ston Pettigrew. 



* Captain Graham was first a private in the Ellis North Carolina Light Artillery ; 
then Lieutenant in the Twenty-second Regiment, North Carolina Infantry ; pro- 
moted to Captain in Seventh North Carolina Regiment; severely wounded at 
Gaines' Mill ; then appointed Judge Advocate of the General Court-martial. He 
is now a practising lawyer. 



ADDRESS 



ON 

THE LIFE A^B SEEVICES OF GENERAL JAMES 
JOHNSTON PETTIGREW, 

DELIVERED BY 

H. C. GRAHAM, of Dallas County, Ala., 

At New Bern, N. C, on the 11th of May, 1885, by invitation from the 

New Bern Ladies' Memorial Association. 



Ladies of the New Bern Memorial Association and Fellow- 
Citizens : 

~1 TNDER any circumstances I should feel myself higlilj hon- 
v_J ored in being called upon to address an audience such as I 
now see before me ; but when I consider all of mj present sur- 
roundings, when I remember the place where I am, and the pur- 
pose for which I am here, my heart is filled to overflowing with 
appreciation of this occasion. 

Twenty years have passed since last I stood upon the precious 
soil of North Carolina. With all the longing that ever possesses 
the heart of the absent sons of the Old North State, I have looked 
forward to some day when once more I could stand amid the 
scenes of mj^ youth. I have little thought, however, it would be 
on an occasion like tliis, or that I should occupy the conspicuous 
position in which I now find myself, through the invitation with 
which I have been honored from the noble association of ladies 
in this city, w4io have done so much, to their everlasting honor 
be^it said, to perpetuate the name and fame of those gallant sons 
of North Carolina, who went forth to die for her and for the 
cause of self-government. 

A beautiful custom, I learn, prevails in Carolina on the occa- 
sion of these annual memorial services, and that is, to select as 
the theme for the occasion the name of some conspicuous ex- 
emplar of valor and worth from among tliat large number of 



10 ADDRESS ON THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF 

North Carolinians who distinguished themselves in onr great 
war between the States. 

I would, ladies and gentlemen, that some more eloquent tongue 
than mine, that some one more practised in the arts and graces of 
oratory than myself were present on this interesting occasion, to 
voice the virtues and to pay proper tribute to the brilliant mili- 
tary achievements of tliat brave soldier and true patriot, James 
Johnston PErriGREw, the subject of our theme to-day ; for among 
all that long list of brave men and skillful commanders that 
I^orth Carolina sent fortli to l)attle for her cause, among that 
galaxy of Southern heroes that, from 1S61 to 1S65, claimed the 
admiration of the world, lie was the peer of them all. 

England's greatest Ijard hath said, that — 

"To gild refined gold, to paiut the lily, 
To throw a pernime on the violet. 
To smooth the ice, or add another hue 
Unto the rainbow, or with taper light 
To seek the beauteous e3'e of heaven to garnish. 
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess." 

With this forcible and beautiful metaphor the wonderful poet 
intended to convey the idea that it was needless to embellish per- 
fect excellence; and the quotation has been often used to illustrate 
the idea that where a great and a good man dies, wdiose virtues 
were so conspicuous that they must of necessity have been known 
by all men, there is no need for eulogy. The character and the 
achievements of such men speak more eloquently in their behalf 
than any language tlie eulogist can command. Such was the 
character and such the achievements of that noble son of North 
Carolina whose memory we seek to honor to-day. 

A soldier of high resolve, with capacity for brilliant execution^ 
a gentleman far removed from the sliglitest tinge of a dishonor- 
able thought or action, of absolutely unsellish and unadulterated 
patriotism, James Johnston Pettigrew was emphatically a man 
for the times in which he lived ; a man for lofty and noble deeds 
n a great struggle that called forth the noblest and the best 
attributes of human nature. Of that pure and spotless character,. 
and elevated, knightly courage that absolutely knew not the 
meaning of the word fear in the performance of duty, he was a 
fit associate of the immaculate Lee, and a tit commander of that 
heroic division that scaled the heights of Gettysburg, planted their 



GEN. JAMES JOHNSTON PETTIGREW. 11 

country's banner on that fiery crest, and poured forth, alas! such 
a (jopious libation of North Carolina's best blood upon that mem- 
orable field. Of calm and dignified bearino;, his fine countenance 
ever expressive of deep reflection and noble resolve, with that 
admirable poise of mind and disposition that was never too ex- 
ultant in success, nor cast down in trial and defeat, 

"Composed iu suffering, iu joy sedate; 
Good without noise, without pretension great ; 
True to his word, in every thought sincere, 
Knowing no wish but what the world might hear," 

he was eminently fitted to be a leader in a cause destined to try 
to the utmost the virtue and the endurance of man. 

I beg you, ladies and gentlemen, not to suppose that I am 
attempting merely the language of eulogy in thus endeavoring to 
describe some of the characteristics of James Johnston Pettigrew, 
for he was in truth all that I have said, and more ; nor do I feel 
that in the mere outline of his character and services permitted 
by the limits of this address, I could pay but the most imperfect 
tribute to the virtues and achivements of this departed hero and 
patriot. 

It is a nolJe spectacle to witness the annual outpouring of our 
peo|ile on occasions like this, for the purpose of keeping alive the 
remembrance of the heroes of our lost cause. The memory of 
the sad and pathetic fate of our lost and loved ones is ours now, and 
it is a labor of love that we perform in scattering beautiful flowers 
upon their graves ; but it cannot and it will not be, that the glory 
of their achievements will always remain the property of only a 
portion of this land. 

As the passions and bitter animosities of the war shall disap- 
pear, and as the sentiment of the country shall become mellowed 
by time, history will at last do justice to that grand army of heroes 
who illustrated to the world such sublime heroism, self-denial and 
patriotic purpose for their convictions of right, and who gave such 
splendid exhibition of their Anglo-Saxon origin and of American 
manhood. 

As the Englishman of to<lay points with pride to the names of 
England's heroes emblazoned on the walls of Westminister Abbey, 
who fought in days gone by for different political convictions, but 
who fought nobly and well, whichever side they espoused ; as he 



12 ADDRESS ON TFfE LIFE AND SERVICES OF 

to-day points to victor and vanquished alike and tells us, not that 
this man was a rebel, and that one loyal, but " these are the men 
who in the past history of my country have illustrated the hero- 
ism, the nobility and the highest virtues of the Anglo-Saxon 
races ;" so, in the near future, the time will come when the 
names and the fame of our Southern heroes and patriots will be- 
come the common property of America. And when that day 
shall come — when that day shall come ! as it will, so sure as the 
bright sun now gives its light from heaven — then among the long 
list of historic names that shall be held up to the rising genera- 
tions as exemplars of all that was true and noble of valor and 
wortli, of all that was sublime in patriotic impulse and endeavor, 
none will be found that will sliine with a purer lustre than that 
of Pettigrew. In the brief story of his life that I am permitted 
to recite to-day, I shall be able to convey to you but an imperfect 
description of the man. I may speak to you of his youthful 
triumphs as a student, of his literary attainments in after life, of 
his scholarly accomplishments, of his distinguished record in the 
politics of his adopted State, of his achievements and his aspira- 
tions as a soldier, and we may draw our inferences tlierefrom; but 
that elevated character of his every impulse, that deep and all- 
pervading earnestness of purpose, that complete abnegation of 
self in his devotion to his cause, that keen sense of true nobility 
and honor, that w^as characteristic of the man, could only be known 
and appreciated for their full value by those wdio were thrown in 
immediate contact with him. 

JAMES JOHNSTON PETTIGREW 

was born on the shores of Lake Scuppernong, in Tyrrell county, 
North Carolina, on the 4th July, 1828, at the paternal estate, 
^'Bonarva," where was ever dispensed that princely hospitality 
<;haracteristic of the Southern plantation of the olden time. 
His father, Hon. Ebenezer Pettigrew, who, for a short period, 
represented his district in the United States Congress, was 
descended from an ancient and honorable family, of French 
origin, but a portion of which early settled in Ireland, and 
became distinguished in the civil and military history of that 
<;ountry. One of his ancestors, James Pettigrew, was a dis- 
tinguished officer in King William's army at the battle of the 



GEN. JAMES JOHNSTON PETTIGREW. 13 

Boyne, and for gallant service there he received a grant of lands 
from the crown. James Pettigrew, the youngest son of this gen- 
tleman, emigrated to America in 1740, and was the founder of 
the family in this country. He finally settled at Abbeville, 
South Carolina, leaving in North Carolina his son Charles, grand- 
father to General Pettigrew, and the founder of the family in 
this State. This gentleman, who was ordained to the ministry 
by the Bishop of London in 1775, became an eminent divine in 
the English Church, and after the Revolution was chosen the 
first Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. He 
died, however, before his consecration, leaving one son, Hon. Eb- 
euezer Pettigrew, to whom I have already referred. 

It is eminently appropriate that this city should do honor to 
the memory of James Johnston Pettigrew, for his mother, Mrs. 
Ann B. Pettigrew, was the daughter of one of the most dis- 
tinguished families that New Bern has produced, being a member 
of that family of Shepards whose high social standing for years 
added greatly to that brilliant society, which has rendered this 
classic town famous in the history of North Carolina. 

The earlj^ youth of General Pettigrew was passed under the in- 
struction of that unrivalled preceptor, W. T. Bingham, in Hills- 
boro, and doubtless to the splendid training he there received was 
due much of his success during his brilliant collegiate course. 

In 1843 he entered the University of North Carolina, tlien, as 
at the outbreak of the war, under the guidance of that loved and 
revered head, Governor David L. Swain. His college career was 
one continued and brilliant success. 

Perhaps no student at the University ever graduated with 
greater distinction than did young Pettigrew in 1847. So con- 
spicuous was his merit, of such a high order were his acquire- 
ments, that President Polk, who was attending the commencement, 
accompanied by Commodore Maury, at the suggestion of that dis- 
tinguished oflicer and scientist, tendered to Pettigrew one of the 
assistant Professorships in the Observatory at Washington ; thus 
placing him at the early age of nineteen in one of the most re- 
sponsible and highly respected positions under the Government. 

Here, while he faithfully and satisfactorily, and with great dis- 
tinction to himself, performed all the duties of his office, _yet the 
quiet and uneventful routine of the scientific studio was unsuited 



14 ADDRESS ON THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF 

to liis active genius, and he longed for more vigorous action in 
the arena of life; consequently, in 1848, he adopted the profession 
of law, and commenced his studies with James M. Campbell, Esq., 
of Baltimore ; in a short time, however, he remov^ed to Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, and completed his legal preparation under 
the tutelage of his distinguished relative, James L. Pettigrew, 
Esq., for many years the acknowledged head of tlie South Caro- 
lina Bar. In 1850 he commenced an extended European tour, 
devoting much of his time while abroad to profound study. It 
was during his travels in Spain that Mr. Barringer, then United 
States Minister at Madrid, offered him the Secretaryship to the 
Legation on account of his varied accomplishments and eminent 
fitness for the position; but learning that the then incumbent was 
anxious to retain his position, with that nice consideration for the 
feelings of others that was one of his chief characteristics, he de- 
clined the offer. 

In 1852 Mr. Pettigrew returned to Charleston and the practice 
of his profession. In 1856 he became an active participant in 
the political controversies of his State, which resulted in his elec- 
tion to the Legislature from the city of Charleston in the October 
elections of that year. There was, at this period, a dignity and 
consequence attached to the office of Representative in South Car- 
olina perhaps unequaled in any other State, and the General 
Assembly was composed of the very best material afforded by the 
commonwealth. Many of the members had grown old in the ser- 
vice of the State, and liad earned for themselves distinction that 
had given them a national reputation. In this body James John- 
ston Pettigrew, though one of the youngest members, at once 
became an honored and conspicuous figure. 

The slavery question, with all its attendant agitations, was at 
this period assuming vast proportions in the politics of tlie country. 
Already distant thunders from the clouds of war were beginning 
to be heard from the political horizon, and perhaps in no State of 
the South were more extreme measures urged than in South Car- 
olina. 

In the midst of the heated and passionate controversies of the 
times, Pettigrew, while he was the very embodiment of that 
loyalty to the State which was the shibboleth of his party, yet 
ever tempered liis sentiments with a broad and statesmanlike 



GEN. JAMES JOHNSTON PETTIGREW, 15 

conservatism, with a caltn and dignified consideration, that con- 
spicuously marked him among his co-laborei's in the counsels of 
the State ; and at the conclusion of his legislative term, perhaps no 
man of his years in South Carolina occupied a more prominent 
position among the advanced thinkers of the day. 

In 1859 he again returned to Europe, his military tastes, 
which were ever predominent, leading him thither to observe the 
progress of the Italian war. 

While Pettigrew was essentially a firm l)eliever in the doctrine 
of State supremacy, he was intensely American in his love for 
and pride in his country as a whole, and in his devotion to the 
principles of true republicanism. His deepest sympathies were 
enlisted in behalf of the Sardinians, struggling to free tliemselves 
from the yoke of their oppressors during the Italian war, and he 
applied for and obtained a staff appointment in the Sardinian ser- 
vice; but while hurrying forward to join the army, before he could 
reach it, peace was declared, and he was unable to carry out his 
-noble and unselfish purpose. 

In his interesting book — " Spain and tlie Spaniards " — one of 
the results of his extensive travels, and published shortly after his 
return from abroad, commenting upon the apathy of Europe 
while a nation was struggling for freedom, and upon his own 
emotions as he hastened forward to join the Sardinian army, he 
says : 

"It was certainly humiliating that so large a portion of 
Europe should have remained unsympathizing spectators of the 
■contest. On the part of an American, acquiescence in such neu- 
trality would have been treason against nature. Inspired by these 
sentiments, I was hurrying with what speed I might to offer my 
.services to the Sardinian Government, and to ask the privilege of 
serving as a volunteer in her armies. " - * 

No emotion of my life was ever so pure, so free from every shade 
of conscientious doubt or selfish consideration. * -" * 

I saw but the spectacle of an injured people, struggling as Amer- 
ica had done, to throw off" the yoke of a foreign and comparatively 
barbarous oppressor ; and as we passed battalion after battalion of 
brave I'rench, slowly ascending the mountain, I felt toward them 
all the fervor of youth, fired by the grateful traditions of eighty 
years ago." 



16 ADDRESS ON THE LIFE AND SERVICES OP 

Returning to South Carolina the latter part of 1859, and con- 
vinced from the signs of the times that the impending conflict 
between the sections could not long be deferred, Pettigrew, who 
had devoted much of his time while abroad to the stndj of mili- 
tary science, took an active part in perfecting the local military 
organizations of Charleston, Soon afterward he was chosen Col- 
onel of the First Regiment of Rifles of that city, and through his 
exertions that celebrated corps was brought to the highest state of 
discipline and efficiency. 

It is needless that I should here go into any extended recital of 
the momentous occurrences that preceded the secession of South 
Cai'olina. As is well known, that memorable event occurred on 
the 20th of December, 1860, and pending negotiations between 
the State and the Government at Washington. Major Anderson 
having evacuated Fort Moultrie and estal)lished himself in Fort 
Sumter, the South Carolina authorities immediately took posses- 
sion of the remaining fortiflcations in Cliarleston harbor, and com- 
menced vigorous measures to prevent reinforcements from reaching 
the Federal commander, and for the investment of the historic 
fortress where he liad isolated his small and devoted band. 

Colonel Pettigrew, witli his rifle regiment, was ordered to take 
possession of Castle Pinkney, a small fortiflcation in the harbor; 
but his services were soon demanded at a more important point, 
and he was transferred to Morris Island, where his splendid abili- 
ties as a military engineer were brought prominently into notice 
in the erection of some of those formidable batteries, that added 
so greatly to the compliment of the defences of Charleston harbor. 

But events were rapidly hurrying forward to that flnal culmina- 
tion which brought the sections face to face in the gigantic struggle. 
One by one additional States were added to the Confederacy, until 
at last that memorable 20th May, 1861, arrived, when North Car- 
olina cast her lot with her sisters of the South. For the informa- 
tion of those among us to-day whose memories do not run back to 
this historic period, — and I know there are many, grown to man's 
and woman's estate, for our great struggle has already begun to 
drift into the long ago, — I will say that this greatest of all events 
in North Carolina's history, was performed with great edat. As 
a youtliful soldier and an eye-witness to the scene, it made an im- 
pression upon me that time has never effaced. The con\ention 



GEN. JAMES JOHNSTON PETTIGREW. 17 

then in session at Raleigli, was composed of men famous in the 
history of the Commonwealth. The city was iilled with dis- 
tinguished visitors from every portion of the State and the South. 
Tlie first camp of instruction, located near by, under the command 
of that noble old hero, D. H. Hill, was crowded with the flower 
of the old military organizations of the State, and sounds of mar- 
tial music at all hours of the day were wafted over the city. 

When the day arrived for the final passage of the ordinance of 
secession, the gallant and lamented Kamseur, then a major of 
artillery, was ordered to tlie Capitol grounds with his superb bat- 
tery, to fire a salute of one hundred grms in honor of the event. 
The battery was drawn up to the left of the Capitol, surrounded 
by an immense throng of citizens. The convention in the Hall of 
the House of Representatives were going through the last formality 
of sio-nins; the ordinance. The moment the last signature was 
fixed to the important document, at a given signal, the artillery 
thundered forth, every bell in the city rang a peal, the military 
band rendered patriotic airs, and with one mighty shout from the 
multitude of lier patriotic sons North Carolina proclaimed to 
the world that she had resumed her sovereignty. Immediately 
afterward she began to pour her legions into Virginia. 

When the Twelfth Regiment, which afterward became cele- 
brated as the Twenty-second North Carolina Infanti-y, was organ- 
ized, Pettigrew was chosen its colonel, having pruvi(Mis]y declined 
the position of adjutant-general of South Carolina. At this time 
he was without command, on account of tiie Confederate author- 
ities declining to receive liis South Carolina regiment on the terms 
they demanded. So anxious was he, however, to be in active 
service, he had proceeded to Richmond and enlisted in the Hamp- 
ton Legion, when his commission as colonel of the Twelfth North 
Carolina Regiment reached him. Joining his connnand at Raleigh 
in a short time, he brought it to the very highest point of ef- 
ficiency, so much so that, when shortly afterward lie was ordered 
to Virginia, the Richmond papers with one accord made most 
favorable comment on the appearance of his regiment, as it marched 
through the streets of that city. 

While North Carolina congratulated herself in securing the 
services of a man of such distinguished abilities as the commander 
of one of her regiments, the appointment was also exceedingly 



18 ADDKESS ON THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF 

grateful to Pettigrew, for liis heart Lad ever yearned toward his 
native State with the devotion of a true and loyal son. 

It may not be amiss just here to speak of the sentiments of 
Pettigrew in contemplating the approaching conflict, as indicated 
by his own words. Though much of his life had been passed in a 
State noted for its extreme views and utterances on the subject of 
secession, yet it w^is with no revengeful or vindictive spirit tliat he 
contemplated the struggle between the sections, but with sorrow 
that the land he loved so well, the might}^ republic to whose glory 
and renown the soldiers and statesmen of the South had contri- 
buted so much, must of necessity be rent in twain. His senti- 
ments toward the old flag were beautifully illustrated when, in 
July, 1861, he received a stand of colors for his regiment. On 
that occasion he said: 

"The flag of the old republic is ours no more. That noble 
standard which lias so often waved over victorious fields, which 
has so often carried hope to the atflictcd and struggling hearts of 
Europe, which has so often protected us in distant lands afar 
from home and kindred, now threatens us with destruction. In all 
its former renown we participated ; Soutliern valor bore it to its 
proudest triumphs, and oceans of Southern blood have watered 
the ground beneatli it. Let us lower it with honor and lay it 
reverently upon the earth.'*' 

Remaining in Richmond about a week. Colonel Pettigrew was 
ordered to report with his regiment to General Holmes, at Brooke 
Station, on the Richmond and Fredericksburg railroad, from 
whence he was ordered to Evansport, on the Potomac, where his 
regiment was actively employed in constructing and guarding 
those formidable batteries that for so many months cut off water 
communication with Washington city. The construction of a large 
portion of the defensive works at Evansport was entrusted entirely 
to Pettigrew, and after their completion, they Avere pronounced 
by competent authority, to be master-pieces of military engineer- 
ing. 

In the spring of 1862 the Army of the Potomac fell \m-k, and 
proceeded to Yorktown, to meet McClellan's advance on Richmond. 
Previous to the evacuation of Evansport, without solicitation on 
his part, tho commission of brigadier-general was tendered to 
Colonel Pettigrew I)y President Davis. With unparalelled mod- 



GEN. JAMES JOHNSTON PETTIGREW. 19 

esty, he declined tlie appointment, giving as his reason, that he 
was unwilling to assume the command of a brigade until he had 
seen more active service with his regiment. It was my good 
fortune at this period of the war to be serving under Pettigrew as 
a subaltern in the line, and I shall ever bear in remembrance the 
deep sadness that pervaded the regiment at the prospect of losing 
its beloved commander, when he was summoned to Richmond, and 
the joy that was manifested when he returned and made known 
his determination to remain with us. No regimental commander 
ever received a greater ovation from his troops than did Petti 
grew on this occasion. As he rode through the camp on his way 
to his quarters, with that modest and thoughtful bearing for which 
he was distinguished, he was greeted by a prolonged cheer from 
every officer and man in the regiment. At heart, however, the 
command were proud of his offered promotion, and thought that 
the good of the service demanded that he should reconsider his 
determination, which he finally concluded to do after the earnest 
solicitation of thac distinguished veteran. General Theophilus 
Holmes ; and before leaving Fredericksburg, he took command of 
a brigade, his own regiment forming a portion of it. 

The limits of this address permit me to make but brief mention 
of General Pettigrew's distinguished services to the Confederacy 
from this date to the battle of Gettysburg. After faithful and 
efficient service in the trenches at Yorktown, his brigade was 
active in the performance of all the duties required of it on the 
memorable retreat up the Peninsula. At Barharasville he sup- 
ported the gallant and lamented Whiting, when that officer so 
splendidly repulsed a portion of Franklin's corps near AVest 
Point. 

On the 1st June, 1862, occurred the sanguinary engagement at 
Seven Pines. In this battle Pettigrew's brigade was hotly en- 
gaged and lost heavily. While leading with great gallantry one 
of his regiments in a charge upon a strong position of the enemy, 
General Pettigrew was severely wounded by a musket ball, which 
passed along the front of his throat and into the shoulder, cutting 
the nerves and muscles of the right arm. He was left insensible 
on the held, and when he awoke to consciousness he was a prisoner 
in the enemy's camp. As no intelligence for some time could be 
received concerning him, the impression prevailed that he had 



20 ADDKESS ON THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF 

been killed, which occasioned universal mourning- throughout 
North Carolina, 

After about two months' confinement in prison, General Petti- 
grew was exchanged, and being still an invalid from the effects of 
his wound, he was assigned to command at Petersburg, His old 
brigade, through the exigencies of the service having been as- 
signed to new commands, a new one was formed, composed of the 
Eleventh, Twenty-sixth, Forty-fourth, Tliirty-second and Fifty- 
second North Carolina Infantry, and placed under his command. 

With this superb body of troops, Pettigrew was destined to add 
still brighter laurels to tliose already won. Ordered to North 
Carolina in the fall of 1862, he repelled the Federal raid into 
Martin county, and also the Federal General Foster's expedition 
against Goldsboro' in December of that year, and by his presence 
with his splendid command he gave new heart and courage to the 
people of that section of the State. 

In the demonstration by General D. FI. Hill against the town 
of Washington, North Carolina, in the spring of I860, Pettigrew's 
brigade rendered conspicuous service. 

At the gallant attack near Blount's Creek General Pettigrew 
commanded the forces there engaged, and gave a brilliant illustra- 
tion of his capacity for separate command. In this engagement 
his noble adjutant-general, tlie gallant Captain Nicholas Collin 
Hughes, of this city, who had distinguished himself for bravery, 
was painfully wounded. 

Ordered again to Virginia, Pettigrew was the defender of Pich- 
mond when General Stoneman made his raid north of the city ; 
and soon afterward he took possession at Hanover Junction, 
When General Lee commenced his memorable advance into Penn- 
sjdvania, Pettigrew's brigade accompanied him as a part of Heth's 
division. 

So much has been spoken and written concerning the great pas- 
sage of arms at Gettysburg, it is needless that I should here enter 
into any extended details on the subject. Of one thing, however, 
I would speak with the most positive emphasis, and that is, that 
there is no point connected with the history of that grandest of 
all the battles of our great conflict, that is more thoroughly estab- 
lished to the satisfaction of every candid mind, by overwhelming 
testimony from participants in the battle, than the fact that no 



GEN. JAMES JOHNSTON PETTIGREW. 21 

command engaged in that memorable three days' conflict rendered 
more distinguished service to the Confederate cause, or penetrated 
fartlier into the enemy's lines, than Pettigrew's brigade and Heth's 
division, which he commanded in the assault upon Cemetery Ridge. 
I am led to speak thus positively of this fact, not from any obser- 
vations of this liistoric event myself, for it was my fortune at this 
time to be serving in another portion of the Confederacy, but be- 
cause it is the record of history. 

Captain Lewis G. Young, General Pettigrew's distinguished aid- 
de-cainp, a, ISouth Carolinian, and a thoroughly reliable officer, 
thus describes the conduct of Pettigrew's brigade in the terrible 
assault on the enemy's position the 1st of July : 

"No troops," said he, "could have fought better than did Petti- 
grew's brigade on this day, and I will testify, on the experience of 
many hard-fought battles, that I never saw any fight so well. Its 
conduct was the admiration of all who witnessed the engagement; 
and it was the generally expressed opinion that no brigade had 
done more effective service or won greater fame for itself than this 
had." 

That this gallant officer was not too partial in his estimate of 
the brilliant services of this command, let the following statement 
of casualties testify : Of the three thousand officers and men com- 
posing Pettigrew's brigade at the beginning of the battle, eleven 
hundred were killed and wounded. The Twenty-sixth North Caro- 
lina regiment alone lost five hundred and forty-nine out of eight hun- 
dred men, and the Eleventh Regiment two hundred and fifty out of 
five hundred and fifty. The five field officers present with these two 
regiments were all killed or wounded. Among them fell that no- 
ble spirit, the gallant Colonel Harry K. Burgwin, of the Twenty- 
sixth Regiment, the Harry Percy of that bloody day. 

In the midst of this engagement, Major-General Hetli having 
been wounded, the command of the division devolved upon Gene- 
ral Pettigrew ; and upon Colonel Marshall, of the Fifty-second Re- 
giment, that of the brigade. 

On the morning of the 3d of July, General Pettigrew was or- 
dered to report, with Heth's division, to General Longstreet, and 
in the memorable assault of that day on Cemetery Hill he was at 
first ordered to support General Pickett's division ; this order, 
however, was almost immediatelv countermanded, and he was 



22 ADDRESS ON THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF 

instructed to advance upon the same line with Pickett in the main 
attack. 

"What need that I should attempt to describe tliis eventful day ? 
The history of the 3d of July, 1863, has become known to almost 
every school boy in the land. It is well known that the great as- 
sault upon Cemetery Ridge, which may be said to have decided 
the fate of the Confederacy, was opened by the most terrific artil- 
lery duel the world has ever known. For more than an hour over 
three hundred cannon bellowed forth their thunders and shook the 
hills around Gettysl)urg, myriads of bursting shell filled the air, 
and immense banks of sulphurous smoke rolled over the interven- 
ing space between the armies. Suddenly there came a pause in 
this fearful storm, and Pickett's division of Virginians, and Heth's 
division under Pettigrew, the last already terribly decimated from 
its participation in the engagement two days previous, sprang to 
the assault and started on that march of death that won for them 
imperishable renown. 

On the crest of the hill in front, strongly entrenched, lay the 
Federal power, w^ith every necessary appliance of destruction then 
known to warfare. Up this natural glasis, perfectly open except 
for the numerous fences that obstructed the way of the assaulting 
column, for one mile and a quarter Pettigrew led Heth's division 
under the most destructive fire of artillery and musketry known in 
any battle of modern times. Overcoming every obstacle, oflicers 
and men falling at every step by scores, his bi-ave battalions, well- 
nigh annihilated, at last reached the enemy's works, only to be 
compelled to retire by overwhelming odds, and slowly the remnant 
of this gallant l)and was forced to fall back to the point from 
whence they had started. 

But where, alas ! was that high spirited and brave brigade that 
delighted to call Pettigrew its commander? The gallant Marshall, 
who led it, lay dead upon the field, and of the three thousand who 
had marched with such bright hopes into Pennsylvania only eight 
hundred and thirty-five remained. This small renmant was brought 
oflf under the command of Major Jones, of the Twenty-sixth Re- 
giment, every other field officer, save one who was captured, being 
either killed or wounded. 

Pettigrew himself was painfully wounded in the hand, but he 
declined to leave the field and remained with his troops to the last. 



L.cf 



GEN. JAMES JOHNSTON PE'ITIGREW. 25 

Two of his staff fell at liis side. I pause for an instant to pay bnt 
a hri((f and imperfect tribute to one of them, Captain Nicholas 
Collin Hughes, of this city, his brave adjutant-general. High 
spirited, courageous, of handsome and dignified presence, animated 
by the noblest impulses of patriotism, of rare talent and intellec- 
tual acquirements, idolized by his family and dearly loved for hi& 
virtues by hosts of friends, there was a congenial companionship 
between him and his distinguished commander that grew stronger 
with lengthened association. As aid-de-camp to the lamented 
Governor Ellis, as adjutant of the Second North Carolina Regi- 
ment, and as adjutant-genei'al of Pettigrew's brigade, he had won 
golden opinions from his superiors in command, and from all with 
whom he had l)een associated. Conspicuous always for his cool- 
ness and bravery, in the thickest of the light on the 3d of July he 
received his mortal wound, and lingered until the 15th, when, at 
Martinsburg, Va., his noble spirit passed away. 

Gathering the shattered remnants of his army. General Lee 
commenced his retreat into Virginia. But who shall describe the 
agony of that march ? On the morning of the 14:th of July Heth's 
division arrived at a point near Falling Waters, on the Potomac, 
where a pontoon bridge had been constructed for the passage of 
the army. The division had l)een marching all night, and, footsore 
and weary, had thrown themselves upon the ground to take what 
rest they might, when General Hetli, who had resumed command 
of his own and also of Pender's division, approached General Pet- 
tigrew and informed him that he had received orders to cross the 
river, and' instructed him to remain as a rear guard with his com- 
mand, which consisted of his own and Archer's brigades. While 
the conversation proceeded between these officers, their attention 
was attracted by a considerable body of cavalry which made their 
appearance on a hill about a mile distant. Not knowing whether 
they were friends (U* foes, the two generals were intently watching 
their movements, when they beheld a small body of horsemen 
emerge from a wood a few hundred yards in front. This body 
came forward in a gallop, with swords drawn and displaying the 
Federal flag. The size of the force, numbering about forty men, 
and their confident approach toward so large a body of infantry, 
led General Heth to suppose that they were Confederate troops, 
and he withheld the fire of his men ; this fatal delusion was soon, 



24 ADDKESS ON THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF 

however, dispelled, for the reckless troopers, ignorant of the force 
they were about to engage, with a shout daslied into the midst of 
the Confederates, demanding surrender, and an exciting engage- 
ment immediately ensued. At the beginning of the meh'^e, Gene- 
ral Pettigrew's horse, frightened at the sudden and near discharge 
of musketry, plunged and threw his rider. Kising in great pain, 
for he was still suffering from his wound received at Seven Pines, 
and his arm was in a sling from his injury of the 3d of July, Pet- 
tigrew beheld a Federal corporal near him in the act of firing on 
his men. Drawing his pistol, he was approaching this soldier with 
a view of engaging in combat with him, when he fell to the ground, 
himself pierced with a pistol ball. 

The Confederates having quickly overcome their bold assailants 
by killing and wounding nearly the entire band, approached their 
loved commander to find him well nigh in tlie agonies of death 
from his mortal wound. Tenderly and lovingly his sorrowing sol- 
diers raised him and bore him across the river, carrying him on 
timt day seven miles, and the following day fifteen miles, to the 
residence of Mr. Boyd at Bunker Hill, near Martinsburg. 

With great fortitude and Christian resignation he bore his suf- 
fering until the end came, wlien, on the 17th day of July, at 
twenty-five minutes past six o'clock in the morning, the spirit of 
this knightly soldier, this unselfish patriot, this true son of North 
Carolina, this pure and spotless Christian, winged its flight to the 
God that gave it. 

Wrapped in the flag he had striven so hard, from a sincere con- 
viction of duty to defend, his body was borne to the Capitol of 
his loved State, and in the old cemetery of that city it was de- 
posited with the most distinguished civic and military honors his 
countrymen could bestow. 

In the autumn of 1866 his remains were removed to the family 
cemetery at Bonarva, Lake Scuppernong, and there to-day, by the 
side of those who were nearest and dearest to him, amid the 
mournful f ighing of the cypress and the pine, on the shores of 
the beautiful lake whose plashing waves made music to his ear in 
his childhood days, rest the mortal remains of James Johnston 
Pettigrevv. 

Ladies of the New Bern Memorial Association, I have en- 
deavored to respond to your invitation. That I have done so in 



GEN. JAMES JOHNSTON PETTIGREW. 25 

the most imperfect manner I am painfully conscious. Nothing but 
ray love and veneration for the distinguished soldier and patriot, 
to whose memory you have dedicated the services of this day, 
and my high appreciation of the compliment paid rae in selecting 
me as your orator on this occasion, could have induced me to un- 
dertake an address upon the life and character of one who, as a 
youthful student, received the endorsement of "excellent" from 
the faculty of TSTorth Carolina's time-honored University ; who as 
a scientist was at the early age of nineteen the cliosen companion 
of the illustrious Maury ; who, as a scholar and an author, had 
mastered eight languages ; as a legislator, was pronounced by the 
most eminent of his associates as the coming man in a State that 
had produced a Calhoun ; as a soldier, ranked among the bravest 
and the best in an army whose heroism had excited the admiration 
of the world; and of whom, as a dying Christian, it was said by 
one of the most distinguished Bishops of the Episcopal Church, 
that in a ministry of nearly thirty years he had never witnessed 
a more sublime example of Christian resignation and hope in 
death. 

In conclusion, permit me to say that I should consider my mis- 
sion of to-day still more imperfectly performed, if I did not at- 
tempt a tribute to those noble soldiers whose memories New 
Bern will ever delight to honor ; those of her own sons who 
went forth to battle, and to those other brave spirits who found a 
last-resting place here in your midst, and in commemoration of 
whose valor your beautiful monument has been erected. 

I call the roll of New Bern's heroes, but there are many, alas! 
wdio cannot answer to their names. 

Where are Mayhew, Brookiield, Dewey, Malone, Ilobinson,Cook, 
Carter, Dixon, Duguid, Attmore, Hall, Hyman, Johnson, Han- 
cock, Benjamin, Frederick Cherry, Cowling, Dix, Roberts, Koonce, 
Coart, Herritage, McLacklan, Bryan, Bernard, and Monday? 
They, too, laid down their lives on tbe field of battle, and so long 
as patriotic purpose and unselfish sacrifice for one's country shall 
be considered the attributes of American freemen, so long will 
the memories of these patriots be honored in this community. 

The world's history furnishes no nobler instance of patriotic 
response to earnest conviction of duty than w^as illustrated by 
that outpouring of the young men of the South in 1861, of 



26 ADDKESS ON THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF 

which the action of these brave men of New Bern was a fair 
example. 

1 trust in this connection I may be pardoned if I borrow the 
languag;e of that eminent South Carolinian, the eloquent Trescott, 
himself the biographer of the noble Pettigrew, who says : 

"Never in the history of the world lias there been a nobler re- 
sponse to a more thoroughly recognized duty ; nowhere anything 
more truly glorious than this outburst of the youth and manhood 
of the South. And now that the end has come, and we have seen 
it, it seems to me that to a man of humanity, I care not in what 
section his sympathies may have been nurtured, th^re never has 
been a sadder or sublimer spectacle than these earnest and de- 
voted men, their young and vigorous columns marching through 
Richmond to the Potomac, like the combatants of ancient Pome, 
beneath the imperial throne in the amphitheatre, and exclaiming 
with uplifted arms, ' Moriturl te salutant^ 

" Their leaf has perished in the green, 

And while we breathe beneath the sun, 
The world -which credits what is done 
Is cold to all that might have been." 

" Of the great men of this civil war history will take care. The 
issues were too high, the struggle too famous, the consequences 
too vast for them to be forgotten. But as for those of whom I 
speak, if tlie State is indeed the mother whom they so fondly 
loved, she will never forget them. She will speak of them in a 
whisper, if it must be, but in tones of love that will live through 
all these dreary days. From among the cliildren who survive to 
her, her heart will yearn for ever toward the early lost. The 
noble enthusiasm of their youth, the vigorous promise of their 
manhood, their imperfect and unrecorded achievement, the pity 
of their deaths, will so consecrate their memories that, be the revo- 
lutions of laws and institutions, what they may, the South will,, 
living, cherish with a holier and stronger love, and, dying, if die 
she must, will murmur with her latest breath tlie names of the 
' Confederate dead.' " 



GEN. JAMES JOHNSTON PETTIGREW. 2T 

At the conclusion of the oration, Chief -Marshal E. M. Dnguid 
formed the large procession of ex-Confederate soldiers, citizens, 
the little firemen, and the Graded School, all preceded b}^ the Silver 
Cornet Band, and proceeded to Cedar Grove Cemetery. A circle 
was formed around the monument, and the choir sang " Tenting 
on the Old Camp Ground " ; after which Rev. L. C. Yass, for- 
merly the Chaplain of the Twenty-seventh Virginia Regiment,. 
Stonewall Brigade, and now pastor of the Presbyterian Church in 
New Bern, delivered the dedicatory address that follows. 



ADDRESS 



ON 

UNVEILING THE CONFEDERATE MONUMENT, 

BY 

Rev. L. C. VASS, A. M., New Bekn, N. C, 

Monday, Mat 11, 1885. 



THIS morning I was asked bj the ladies of the Memorial Asso- 
ciation to offer some remarks on the unveiling of the statue 
dedicated to the memory of the Confederate dead. I obey the sudden 
summons, as a loyal knight to female power. What disappoint- 
ment and shame would sadden our world and our hearts, were it 
not for woman's cheerful and unwearied energy and perseverance ! 
A most happy illustration of this is before us to-day in this statue, 
about to be unveiled in our presence, through the tireless and 
often discouraged labors of the New Bern Ladies' Memorial So- 
ciety. For many yeai-s they have wrought on this work, so needed 
in its objects and its subjects. This day sees the accomplishment 
of long desires. 

A Sorrow. 

One sorrow clouds the sunshine of our joy. Yet that is not 
unrelieved. She, whose earnest energies and warm heart were 
enlisted in this enterprise, as the active President of this Memo- 
rial Society from its beginning, is sleeping with those whose fame 
she toiled to commemorate. But just before she left us, a sweet 
gleam of satisfaction rested upon her face and heart, as she was 
told that the statue was in its place on its pedestal. As she com- 
muned in soul, in this supreme hour, with her God, she was 
glad that her long labors were herein crowned with success. When 
we unveil this statue to-day, it will stand a monument, not only 
to the gallant soldiers, but also a monument to the loving zeal of 
the honored leader of the Memorial Association, the late Presi- 
dent Elizabeth Batchelor Daves. 



address on unveiling the confederate monument. 29 

National Honors. 

It is an honor to celebrate the fame of the noble. A good 
name is a coveted inheritance. It surely is a supreme satisfac- 
tion, not only not to be ashamed of our ancestors, but to be able 
to point to their worth with confidence, to live in their reflected 
light, and to be elevated in sentiment and life by imitation of 
their distinguished achievements. 

So nations have ever rightly delighted to honor their worthy 
sons. With wonder and admiration have I gazed on that Colossal 
Lion — cut with rare sculptor's skill in the solid face of a rocky 
cliff in Switzerland — by that genius of the chisel, Thorwaldsen. 
There lies the dying king of animals, pierced by the broken but 
fatal spear, with defiance in liis speaking face, as with an echoing 
roar he lays his mighty paw on the shield, bearing the lilies of 
France. Thus significantly he perpetuates the unshrinking fidel- 
ity of that Spartan band of Swiss soldiers, who, when all others 
deserted the King of France, rallied as his trusted body guard 
around him, and arms in hand, died in honor. 

So one stands in mnte musing, amazement and satisfaction 
under the gilded dome, surrounded by the rare frescoes, polished 
marble and granite and speaking bronze, of the tomb of Napo- 
leon in the Hotel des Invalides, and there honors the mindful de- 
votion of a nation to a dead chieftain, who crowned them with 
fadeless glory. 

So everywhere, in the marts of commerce, or in holy temples, 
or in the cities of the dead, — the Fere le Chaises, Laurel Hills, 
Greenwoods, and the Cedar Groves, — we found lasting memorials 
to those whose name and fame we will not willingly let die. 

Our Testimonial. 
To-day, then, with equal pride and pleasure we rejoice, that in 
our poverty, but in our honor, we are come to offer a fitting tes- 
timonial to the memory of the true and the brave, who at their 
country's call hasted to the fray, and endured to the death. 

"lu the fair Sovith-Laud, where the i*ecl rose blooms, 
Aud the violet scents the breeze, 
Where the dark pines' bending, swaying plumes 

Rise o'er the nodding trets ; 
Where cottages 'mid the gray woodbine. 



30 ADDRESS ON UNVEILING THE CONFEDERATE MONUMENT. 

The jasmine-buds and the arbute-vine, 

Gleamed bright in the South-Land's summer shine, 

"The rumble of war swelled over the laud, 

The roll of the stirring drum. 
And the shrill fife pealed from cliflf to strand, 

And died in a solemn hum ! 
The din of the battle-jar in the air. 
And the torch of Mars, with its crimson flare, 
Were heard and seen o'er the fields so fair." 

Then the fields grew red, acd the homes grew still ; 

For the boys in gray lie dead ; — 
Our hopes were all withered, our hearts were chill. 

As we wept o'er their gory bed, — 
But nature has gemmed her mantle of green. 
And covered their homes with the flowery sheen, — 
While God our comfort and stay hath been. 

In the spring-tide of this gh^rioas light, on this radiant after- 
noon, this monument is placed here with its marble soldier — his 
rifle grounded — to celeln-ate and honor for ever the wortliy deeds 
of our gallant dead, Confederate warriors. 

This illustrious host is led by him whom the 10th of May 
always calls to mind. In the far off northern Denmark I was 
both surprised and glad to hear the sentiment — coming too from 
the Royal Court — that in studying the records of the late sad 
conflicts in our land, the greatest of all the military chieftains 
was our own loved "Stonewall Jackson.'' 

Salutation. 
And now evil passions are beginning to be laid to rest, and 
friend and foe are joining in admiring true courage and devotion 
to duty. So we gladly and fltly uncover our Memorial Statue to 
public gaze and to history, in honor of the brave who sleep in 
their last bivouac — in the camping ground of stainless fame. As 
these noble ladies of the ISTew Bern Memorial Association now 
unveil this monument dedicated to heroes, let these shot-torn bat- 
tle flags wave their salute, and let glad shouts arise from every 
tongue; and let us cherish ever, and proclaim the virtues of our 
Confederate brothers, soldiers, patriots! 



unveiling the confederate monument. 31 

The Unveiling. 
At the close of this address, Mrs. L. C. Vass, Yice-President of 
the Memorial Association, by the movement of a cord, unveiled 
before the assemblage the hidden statue, and the splendid effigy of 
the brave and true Confederate stood forth in heaven's sunlight, 
on his eternal watch over the bivouac of kindred heroes. In 
memory of God's kind providences, the great assembly united in 
singing the doxology — " Praise God from whom all blessings 
flow."^ 

POEM. 

The following poem, written for the occasion by Mrs. Mary 
Bayard Clarke, was then read by her son, Mr. W. E. Clarke : 

"DUX FCEMINA FACTI." 

" Oa Fame's eternal cimping ground" 

A sentinel now takes his stand, 
To guard his comrades' dreamless sleep 

Until relieved by Time's command. 

But — though this soldier carved in stone 

May slowly crumble and decay, — 
For ''earth to earth and dust to dust" 

Material things all pass away : 

Yet, Love, like Truth, can never die ; 

And 'graved ou Time's historic page. 
The memory of our soldiers' deeds 

Shall live uudimmed from age to age. 

By woman's hand 'tis written there. 

"Our dead sha'l live," she said, 
And placed her sentinel above 

The grave of the Coufed'rate dead. 

Stand there, O effigy in stone ! 

To guard 'gainst time's corroding dust 
The sacred mem'ries of the past 

Confided to your silent trust. 

The benediction was then pronounced by Rev. Mr. Shields, and 
quietly mound and graves were covered with beautiful flowers, 
betokening the perennial fragrance and honor of noble lives and 
deeds. 



i^OY 10 1904 

« 

32 unveiling the confederate monument. 

Conclusion. 

Thus has been happily eonckided this part of the Association's 
aims, in a manner alike creditable to them and honoring to the 
dead. It remains for tliem suitably to enclose and adorn their 
grounds. New members and furtiier work are needful for these 
ends. 

During its existence the Association has aided kindred societies 
and work, viz. : Stonewall, at Winchester, Va., and Hollj'wood, at 
Richmond, Va. ; the removal of North Carolina's dead from Get- 
tysburg, and erecting a sarcophagus over that great and good 
General, Robert E. Lee, at Lexington, Va. 

Pkesident, .... Mrs. John Hughes. 

( Mrs. M. McK. Nash. 
Vice-Pkesidents, . . . - 

( Mrs. L. C. Vass. 

Secretary, .... Mrs. Nannie D. McLean. 

Treasurer, .... Mrs. George Allen. 

Its noble work has the hearty approbation of the living, and 
should receive their generous support. It will be crowned by the 
future with sincere gratitude and ceaseless benedictions. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




